Food
The next great American fast casual restaurant is among us
The following is an excerpt from Paul Barron’s new book, “The Chipotle Effect,” slated for publication in 2012. Visit the website to get the...
Food
Food
Don’t buck tradition — build on it
According to a recent Advertising Age article, “Chipotle Bucks Fast-Food Convention While It Still Can,” Chipotle Mexican Grill Chief Marketing Officer Mark Crumpacker brought...
Food
Will farmers find enough workers this summer?
Farmers who last year began to feel the pinch of a labor shortage that left them scrambling to find workers to pick their crops...
Food
What’s for lunch?
In the late 1990s, lunch outside the office or at least away from the desk was still part of most work days, but it...
Food
Politics and the plate
My resume includes a brief foray into the world of agency public relations, a gig that happened to coincide with the last presidential election....
Food
It’s not in the cards: PunchMe offers a loyalty program for the digital age
Loyalty programs have been around for quite some time. It all started with the paper or plastic loyalty cards a merchant would punch or...
Food
Laws sometimes come with a side of unexpected consequences
The idea of a national $9-per-hour minimum wage has spurred debate in the restaurant industry among workers trying to make a living and operators...
Food
New York City braces for the latest in fancy food
Manhattan, always a mecca for new food trends and a melting pot of diverse flavors, will take it up a notch this weekend, as...
Food
Fresh fruits and spices flavor this season’s hot cocktails
High-end whiskey, fresh fruit and surprising spices are likely to fill more cocktail glasses this year, as a few trends come together to shape...
CPG
C-stores’ growing focus on food
Tobacco taxes are on the rise again after staying relatively stable in 2012, according to an article in CSP.net last month. President Obama has...
CPG
Why brands should explore package re-design and rebranding
Nowadays, having a brand with a long history isn’t enough to keep consumer loyalty and capture their spending dollars. From Oscar Mayer rebranding its...
CPG
CPG companies consider the big picture for brand management in the age of omni-channel retail
(Photo: Newscred/Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Today’s consumer is hungry for product information – trends such as farm-to-table and clean eating all point to a population...
Food Retail
Perdue president shares FIT-ness strategies for life
Perdue Food Products President Jim Leighton said the book he wrote and published late last year, “Getting FIT,” is largely an homage to his...
Food Retail
Deconstructing what consumers mean by fresh, less-processed foods
Consumers used to think of processed foods as helpful around the kitchen. Major shifts in food culture have changed that thinking, so that many...
Food Retail
Report reveals key takeaways for retailers regarding private labels
(Photo: Flickr user Mark Mathosian) Private labels are so much more than they used to be for food retailers, and it looks like they’re...
Restaurant and Foodservice
Policy Matters, from health care reform to smoking bans
This post is by Janet Forgrieve, a contributing editor to Restaurant SmartBrief. Policy Matters is a weekly column that rounds up the latest state,...
Restaurant and Foodservice
From chef to sharecropper: One locavore’s story
This post is by SmartBlog on Restaurants and Restaurant SmartBrief contributor Janet Forgrieve. Sondra Bernstein’s three restaurants aren’t just serving up dishes made from...
Restaurant and Foodservice
“Top Chef” Restaurant Wars tradition continues in D.C.
SmartBrief’s Doris Nhan wrote this blog post. Plan a menu. Cook delicious food. Open a restaurant. In just one day. This week’s “Top Chef...
Restaurant and Foodservice
Did 2010 trends live up to the predictions?
This post is by SmartBlog on Restaurants and Restaurant SmartBrief contributor Janet Forgrieve. Restaurant experts, trade groups and media outlets will soon begin issuing...
Restaurant and Foodservice
2010: A year of landmark legislation for restaurants
Did you miss Part I of Restaurant SmartBrief’s Year-End Report? We reported the top 10 most-clicked on stories of 2010 and polled our readers...
Restaurant and Foodservice
Meatless Mondays, the garbage challenge and what Americans think of chain restaurants
Every week, Restaurant SmartBrief editors scour the Internet for the breaking news and best-practices stories that restaurant owners and managers need to make their...
Restaurant and Foodservice
Hospital dietitian on matters of life, death and diet
As Clinical Nutrition Manager at St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore, Julie Katz has spent six years assessing the nutritional needs of a diverse patient...
Restaurant and Foodservice
How Hardee’s invented a healthier burger
This month, Hardee’s and its sibling chain, Carl Jr.’s, became the first major quickservice restaurant chain to add a turkey burger to its permanent...
Restaurant and Foodservice
HRH The Prince of Wales addresses sustainability in the food industry
This post is written by Mairead Reilly. Reilly is a Boston native and a sophomore at Georgetown University, majoring in Arabic. A lifelong foodie,...
Restaurant and Foodservice
How to extract energy savings from restaurant appliances
Restaurant owners who invest in making their appliances more sustainable are not only helping the environment but also likely saving a bundle of money...
Restaurant and Foodservice
Virginia sees gun crimes drop a year after law allows weapons in bars
In the fall, we told you about Tennessee and other states that enacted laws allowing patrons with permits to bring handguns into bars, provided...
Restaurant and Foodservice
3 trends from the Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show
The Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show rolled through Washington, D.C., during the weekend, bringing with it celebrity chefs, presenters and hundreds of exhibitors who...
Restaurant and Foodservice
Small-business cash flow tips for restaurants
This Spotlight on Business Credit Cards is brought to you by American Express OPEN, the leading issuer of small-business credit cards and charge cards...
Restaurant and Foodservice
Outdoor dining areas bloom with spring
The mercury’s climbing fast, and restaurants nationwide are opening their patios. When I first began writing about restaurants in Denver about a decade ago,...
Restaurant and Foodservice
Vintage dishes with a modern twist make for unique eats
At BlogHer Food ’12, food writer and pastry chef Garrett McCord talked with bloggers Kelly Jaggers and Kristen Herwitz about the popularity of vintage...
Restaurant and Foodservice
Going meatless in October
October is Vegetarian Awareness Month, during which dedicated vegetarians and vegans step up their game to inform others about health and humane benefits of...
Restaurant and Foodservice
How U.S. chefs prepare for the culinary Olympics
Next month in Lyon, France, a U.S. culinary team led by Chef Richard Rosendale will face off against chefs from 23 other nations in...
Restaurant and Foodservice
Even the world’s best eatery isn’t immune
It seems like most of the time when we hear about foodborne-illness outbreaks tied to restaurants, they’re linked to lower-priced chain eateries. So, when...
Restaurant and Foodservice
The story of Salata
The healthy-dining trend comes as no surprise to Berge Simonian — he’s known for a while that tasty better-for-you choices can score big with...
Restaurant and Foodservice
The Social Chef is more than just a hashtag, it’s a way of business
Between the biggest social platforms — Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube – chefs now have the ability to reach thousands of consumers at one...
Restaurant and Foodservice
Can companies cut food waste and feed the world?
Two hot topics in the food world grew even hotter last year, converging as companies across the globe sought better solutions to stem the...
Restaurant and Foodservice
Creating the next “it” food: The rise of limited time offerings
How operators are turning long lines, secret menus, and limited quantities into marketing opportunities Since Chef Dominique Ansel released his croissant-doughnut hybrid last year,...
Restaurant and Foodservice
What consumers want from snacks
Snacks used to be those after-school occasions when children savored milk and cookies, or an adult grabbed an apple to tide herself over until...
Restaurant and Foodservice
Raising the bar on ballpark food
Baseball season is in full swing and once again it seems ballparks have been upping the game when it comes to the food, with...
Restaurant and Foodservice
Locally sourced fast-casual menus feed fresh, transparency, quality trends
Today’s consumers expect fine-dining menus to boast locally sourced ingredients and change with the seasons, and now the locavore trend is fueling changes at...
Restaurant and Foodservice
Q&A: National Restaurant Association CEO Dawn Sweeney on leadership in the restaurant industry
Dawn Sweeney (Photo: National Restaurant Association) For many people, the restaurant industry is a doorway into the working world — one in three adults...
Restaurant and Foodservice
Report: CPG marketers still have work to do to reach working women
(Photo: Flickr user Liz) It is no surprise that women are behind a good deal of spending dollars. Women account for more than 70%...